Vol 28 No. 4: The Marriage Issue: Loves, Laws, Lusts

The Marriage Issue (Vol 28 No 4) Cover

(Vol 28 No 4)
The Marriage Issue: Loves, Laws, Lusts

Despite shifts in societal patterns, marriage remains the last frontier of conventional and public morality. The parental admonition to “settle down” – a phrase recognised by the unmarried with dread – echoes from Balochistan to Arakan! The marriage institution is a constant series of negotiations and adjustments, of love and intimacy; of financial transactions between families during weddings; of social obligations and personal space. What might be considered private relationships between two (or more) consenting adults is significantly shaped by state laws and social pressures. Our quarterly issue explores the numerous aspects of marriage as we know it.

The intersection of law, state and society makes the institution of marriage a ubiquitous and intrusive part of our lives, true of those who are married as well as those who are not; those coaxed or coerced into marriage; and those committed to staying out.

Articles include:

Shootings in Kabul
Life as a wedding videographer in Kabul can be rather risky, writes Taran N Khan, but the ostentatious wedding ceremonies provide vibrant ground for romance to flower

An unjust warNeha Dixit exposes ‘Love Jihad’, a spurious campaign by rightwing Hindu groups to delegitimise inter-faith marriages between Hindu girls and Muslim men
Common Code, uncommon challengesFlavia Agnes explores India’s Uniform Civil Code debate, providing a nuanced account of how rights of women can be strengthened within personal
Far from truth
Labour migration in Nepal has empowered women, but a culture of policing real and imagined sexual transgressions counteracts these advances, argues Weena Pun
The wedding march
Urban Nepalis embrace India’s colonial legacy of using brass bands in weddings. Paavan Mathema explores the world and livelihood of these performers
Unnatural actsDanish Sheikh explores how British colonial laws still impact Southasian realities. Despite decolonisation, ‘Section 377’ continues to be used to criminalise so-called ‘unnatural acts’
Where will all the young queers go?
Never-colonised Nepal has the most progressive legislation on LGBT rights in the region, writes Danny Coyle. However legal reforms, he argues, don’t reflect shifts in conservative values on the ground
A play with the third
The ‘third figure’ is a key source of anxiety around marriage in popular culture. Lora Tomas analyses this theme across three works of literature and film.

ALSO:

Photo essaySunil Gupta’s two-part photo essay makes a provocative statement against the criminalisation of queer lives, with a contrasting set of images
Fiction
‘The alleys of Nakhasa Bazaar’, by Juanita Kakoty
ReviewsAditi Angiras reviews India’s first gay memoir, No one Else: A personal history of outlawed love and sexSunalini Kumar reviews Eat Dust: Greed and mining in Goa, an indictment of the industry’s environmental devastation
From Himalmag.comBattle of Kikrüma by Jelle J P WoutersBad trouble man by Onaiza DrabuMourning, memory and resistance in Pakistanby Nosheen Ali
ArchivesDissident pleasures by Shohini GhoshHoneymooning by Aziz SheikhPoetry against purdah by Ahmad SalimPrice of honour by Bushra Asif

Print quarterlies will be shipped to bookstores and subscribers in the first week of January. You can also get the subscription to Himalhere. Do check this page (and our Facebook and Twitter profiles) to get the latest updates!